Grand Master Tommy Eddy doesn’t have to walk much farther than his backyard to play a round of disc golf.

Eddy, a card-carrying member of the Professional Disc Golf Association, designed a private course on his property in Hartman and a near-by Cline Park course in Clarksville.

Eddy played his first disc golf tournament in 1979 at the age of 19. Over the course of his 30 year career, he has won the Arkansas State Grand Master Division multiple times, as well as the Texas State Championship Master division, Mississippi State championships and the Southern National championships.

“I had a major accident in 1981 that altered my disc golf career,” Eddy said. “I enjoyed playing it and I made enough money to pay for my expenses.”

The major accident Eddy referred to was when he fell head-first down an elevator shaft, breaking both wrists and dislocating both elbows. He had only just returned to work after an incident with a front-end loader crushing his legs.

He said being incapacitated left him with an appreciation and zest for life that impacted his ability to appreciate the little things in life, and influenced his ability to bond with his patients.

Eddy has been the director of Turning Point Adult Behavioral Health at Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center for seven months.

“I’m open to more and able to see what’s really going on with people,” Eddy said. “Many people, including mental health professionals, view people through a narrow vision, but I’m able to see the complete person.”

Eddy’s transition to the mental health field was a gradual one that began with his training in the United States Air Force.

He joined the Air Force at the age 19 and served in emergency rooms while stationed in England and in the cardiovascular field for four years at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss.

Directly following his discharge, Eddy worked as a chef for the Texas Renaissance Festival and sold stunt kites on the beach of Galveston during the off-season.

“In 1987 I decided I needed to use my GI Bill before time ran out,” Eddy said of going back to college. “Nursing was the obvious choice after my training in the air force.”

Eddy found psychiatric nursing while working at Haven Home in Texarkana.

For Eddy, mental health allows him to treat the patient in body, mind and spirit.

He became interested in holistic medicine in 1976 after a friend bet him $20 Eddy could not go two weeks without meat.

He won the bet and has been a vegan ever since, occasionally eating fish.

“I’ve always had stomach issues,” Eddy said of becoming a vegan. “At the age of 10, I would go through an entire roll of Tums. I felt better when I gave up meat and my diet still reflects that simple bet.”

Eddy delved further into holistic living and began practicing yoga, exercise and massage therapy.

Eddy begins each morning with a sun salute pose, which takes a person through 12 different positions.

“The sun salute helps improve strength and flexibility of the muscles and spinal column,” Eddy said of his morning routine. “This pose also warms up the body and tones the abdominal muscles. I’ve even got some of my staff doing it.”

Eddy said he learned about how message therapy actually cleanses toxins from the body and makes the body more effective, so he became a licensed massage therapist.

Eddy really is a jack of all trades who enjoys life and all of its many adventures. For his next adventure, he said he just might try his hand at stand-up comedy.

For now, though, Eddy said he enjoys working at Turning Point Adult Behavioral Health and hopes to be in the River Valley for years to come.

“Saint Mary’s really is a great place to work,” Eddy said. “I love the staff and I enjoy making rounds in the hospital. Of course it doesn’t hurt that there are two disc golf courses in Russellville.”